Southern Asia: Central India

The Narmada Valley Dry Deciduous Forests [IM0207] are neither exceptionally species-rich nor high in numbers of endemic species. But this ecoregion still retains more than a third of its natural habitat in several large blocks that exceed 5,000 km2 in area. In this bioregion, such large dry forest habitats present rare and important opportunities to conserve Asia's largest carnivore, the tiger (Panthera tigris).

Scientific Code

(IM0207)

Ecoregion Category

Indo-Malayan

Size

65,600 square miles

Status

Critical/Endangered

Habitats

Description Location and General DescriptionThe ecoregion represents the dry deciduous forests along the Narmada River Valley and the flanking Vindhya Mountain Range and the western part of the Satpura Mountain Range in the central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. These hill ranges, rising to more than 1,300 m, mark the northern boundary of the Indian Peninsula (Kendrick 1989). The Deccan Plateau itself-and thus the ecoregion-traces its geological roots back to the ancient circumpolar continent Gondwanaland. Hora (1949) hypothesized that the Satpura Range was a dispersal bridge that allowed species exchanges between the eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats. The presence of fossils of species such as Anisopteris, Cynometra, Dipterocarpus, Dryobalanops, Gluta, Hopea, and Mesua suggests that evergreen moist forests covered this area during the Miocene (Meher-Homji 1989).

Biodiversity FeaturesAlthough it is not exceptional in terms of endemism or diversity, the ecoregion still retains important habitat for many of the Indian Subcontinent's large animals, such as the tiger, gaur (Bos gaurus), wild dog (Cuon alpinus), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), chousingha (Tetracerus quadricornis), and blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra). Throughout most of their ranges, these larger vertebrate species are being increasingly confined to small forest fragments that do not offer much hope for long-term survival of declining populations. Therefore, it is important to safeguard large habitat areas where they exist. Most of the large blocks of remaining habitat have been included in TCUs (Dinerstein et al. 1997). These habitat landscapes present the best opportunities for long-term conservation of viable tiger populations. However, very little is known of the habitat integrity and the status of the prey populations in these forests. Surveys have been recommended to determine their importance and potential contribution toward a regional tiger conservation strategy.

The mammal fauna in the ecoregion includes seventy-six species. Although none of them are endemic, there are several threatened species, including the tiger, gaur, wild dog, sloth bear, chousingha, and blackbuck (IUCN 2000).

None of the 276 bird species in this ecoregion are endemic. But the bird fauna includes the globally threatened lesser florican (Eupodotis indica) and the endangered Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) (IUCN 2000).

Current StatusNearly two-thirds of the natural forests of this ecoregion have been cleared, but the remaining habitat includes several large blocks that cover extensive areas, especially along the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges. The seventeen protected areas cover more than 7,500 km2, or almost 5 percent of the ecoregion's area (table 1). Two of the protected areas, Melghat and Noradehi, exceed 1,300 km2.

Ecoregion numbers of protected areas that overlap with additional ecoregions are listed in brackets.

Types and Severity of ThreatsThe large patches of forests are still greatly threatened by ongoing forest clearing and conversion. But the threats from a series of dams on the Narmada River are even more serious than the small-scale degradation threats. These dams will flood critical habitat, and they will also displace a large number of tribal and local communities into adjacent intact forests (Anonymous 1994).

The conservation status of this ecoregion was changed from vulnerable to endangered because of threats from the dense human population to the intact forest blocks. However, impending threats from the hydropower schemes may warrant elevation to critical status.

As the tribal populations shift from a subsistence lifestyle to a more material one and as the populations continue to increase rapidly, conflicts are beginning to occur with conservation interests and authorities. These problems must be addressed in a timely manner.

Justification of Ecoregion DelineationIn a previous analysis of conservation units, Rodgers and Panwar (1988) divided the Deccan Peninsula into five biotic provinces. This ecoregion largely corresponds to the Rodgers and Panwar biotic province 6E, the Central Highlands, but we redrew the boundary to exclude the small area of moist deciduous forest represented in the biotic province as shown in MacKinnon's (1997) map of the original vegetation. This modification of Rodgers and Panwar (1988) is to conform to our rules for delineating ecoregions, that is, to represent distinct habitat types of regional extent. The dry deciduous forests therefore were represented by the Narmada Valley Dry Deciduous Forests [IM0207].

ReferencesReferences for this ecoregion are currently consolidated in one document for the entire Indo-Pacific realm.Indo-Pacific Reference List